NGOs and initiatives from five European countries – France, the Netherlands, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and Germany – sent an identical multinational Leopard petition to their national parliaments on 18 January 2023, calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to finally approve the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Excerpts from the petition:

The war in Ukraine rages without mercy. The suffering is boundless. UNICEF tells us: Since February 2022, 1,148 children have been killed or injured while millions have fled, been uprooted from their homes, separated from their families or put at risk of violence. Others will freeze to death. And there is no end in sight. …

We, in our capacity as European citizens, no longer want to stand idly by and watch this state terror raging in our common European home. …  That is why we say:

  • It is time to put an end to this war.
  • It is time to realise that defence against missiles, drones and cruise missiles helps Ukraine, but the most important task now is to drive the Russian army off Ukrainian soil once and for all.
  • It is time to understand that this cannot be done without the use of modern Western battle tanks like the “Leopard”.

For these reasons, citizens from France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are today submitting a joint petition to their respective national parliaments, calling on them to make the following appeal to the German Federal Government by way of a resolution:

  • Save the lives of innocent children, women and men!
  • Shorten the war!
  • Approve the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine!

According to many experts, only such tanks offer a viable path to expel the Russian army from Ukrainian soil.

These are the organisations and initiatives that submitted the petition to their respective national parliaments: Stand with Ukraine (France), OpenDoorUkraine.NL (Netherlands), UK4UA (United Kingdom), Praeities žvalgas / Šarūnas Jasiukevičius (Lithuania) und We are Europe (Germany).

“We are very grateful to all the organisations involved that this five-country multinational Leopard petition has come about,” said We are Europe Chair Jens Baganz. “It is the first synchronous multinational petition in Europe. It shows that the responsibility of European citizens no longer ends at their own national borders. Situations can arise where we all have to criticise or admonish a government together. And that is exactly the case with the German government at the moment.”

As soon as the five petitions have been released for signing, we will inform you here.